3 players Packers could cut in 2022 to create cap room

Three players the Packers could cut in 2022 to create cap room.

If you thought this past offseason was tough for the Green Bay Packers when it came to the salary cap, you ain’t seen nothing yet.

The Packers will need to create approximately $38 million next offseason just to get under the salary cap, no easy task.

Restructuring deals is a near certainty, but the Packers will likely also need to release some players, unfortunately. Let’s look at three players the team could decide to release.

Note: All cap numbers in this article are according to Over The Cap.

Za’Darius Smith

Potential cap savings: $15.75 million

Like just about every Packers fan, I absolutely love Za’Darius Smith and hope he stays in Green Bay for the rest of his career. But that’s not necessarily how this will play out.

I went into detail about Smith’s upcoming cap hit for 2022 and why it could be a problem for the Packers.

Simply put, Smith has one of the NFL’s highest 2022 cap hits for non-QBs, with the Packers set to pay $28.13 million. The Packers’ defense has been excellent even without Smith, plus he’s missed most of the season due to injury.

Maybe I’m wrong, but it seems unlikely Smith’s cap hit will stay the same. The two realistic scenarios are either a contract extension or Green Bay moving on from the Pro Bowler.